Radnor’s offense gets in gear, blasts past Penncrest

MIDDLETOWN — For Radnor coach Tom Ryan, it was a matter of building his team’s confidence back up after a lopsided loss at Garnet Valley a week ago.

For Penncrest coach Ryan Smith, the problem has been getting his team to have any semblance of confidence after some one-sided losses in Central League play.

One play into the game at Louis Scott Field Friday night the visiting Raiders were ahead. It didn’t get any better for the Lions the rest of the way as Radnor scored on its first play from scrimmage, the first four times it gained possession, and once during a Penncrest possession early in the second quarter on its way to a 54-21 victory.

“We had a good week at practice,” Ryan, the Radnor coach, said. “We know Coach Smith does a great job and they would come ready to play. We’re happy to get this win, and now we have to get ready for Upper Darby.”

Raiders quarterback Sam DiLella hooked up with Brendan Surbeck (four catches for 112 yards) on a 56-yard scoring strike 11 seconds into the opening quarter. Six Radnor snaps later, it was a DiLella to Jahmir Dixon completion that netted 20 yards and another six points.

DiLella had eight completions for 148 yards in the two quarters he played.

Five plays after Damian Falcone claimed a Penncrest fumble, Taylor Margolis had a short run for another Radnor score. Two DiLella passes netted 33 yards at the end of the opening quarter, and Scott Belveal got off a 20-yard scoring run to open the second stanza.

Following the kickoff, junior Mark McKeon stepped in front of a Penncrest pass and sprinted 20 yards down the sideline for his first ‘pick six.’

“Just before they snapped the ball, Coach Ryan called out to me and I knew I just had to follow my rules and cover the flat,” McKeon said. “We were really prepared for this game after working hard in practice.”

Belveal, who picked up 132 yards on 11 carries, closed out his team’s opening half scoring with runs of 33 and two yards, the second score coming after the second of McKeon’s two interceptions.

Kam Vaughan returned a kickoff 90 yards to finally give the Penncrest fans something to cheer about one minute and 15 seconds before halftime. The Lions recorded only one first down and had only 23 yards of total offense in the opening two quarters.

Brennan Kaut, who picked up 34 yards rushing in the second half, and Joey Stanchek (65 yards on nine carries after halftime) added scoring runs in the second half for the Lions.

Radnor’s Calvin Wilson put the finishing touches on the point total with an 80-yard run three minutes before the final whistle.

“We have to do something to get their confidence back up,” Smith, the longtime Chichester coach now in his first year at Penncrest, said. “We know we still have a lot of work to do.”